Chicopee Council may ban drones from flying over private property, carrying weapons

CHICOPEE -- A proposed ordinance regulating personal drones would ban them from flying over or landing on city or private property, prohibit drone operators from taking photos or video of people without their consent and forbid drones from being weaponized.

The City Council has approved a first reading of the ordinance in a 13-0 vote and sent it to the ordinance subcommittee for a public hearing.

"We have been working on this for a while," Councilor James K. Tillotson said. "It will be subject to refinement in committees."

The Chicopee ordinance is mainly designed to oversee drones that are 55 pounds or less and operated by people as a hobby. Larger ones used for commercial purposes are regulated by the state and federal government, Tilloston said.

The proposed ordinance will ban drones from flying above 400 feet and require them to be in sight of their operators at all times.

Drones will not be allowed to land on, take off from or fly over private property or city property without the owner's written permission. Drones will also be banned from operating in the dark, the ordinance said.

Weapons cannot be added to drones, and photographs and video cannot be taken of any person without their permission, the ordinance said.

Owners must also follow the Federal Aviation Administration requirement that drones be registered with the government.

A first offense will result in a written warning. Fines for subsequent offenses will be $100, $250 and $500 for a fourth and any following offenses, the ordinance said. The Police Department will be responsible for enforcing the regulations, the proposal said.